Read the opening extract of the brand new Karen Maitland book before its publication on 12/03/2015

The Lost Man Booker Prize from 1970

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction represents some of the very best in contemporary fiction. One of the world’s most prestigious awards, and of major influence throughout the book world, it continues to be the pinnacle of ambition for every fiction writer.

TroublesJ.G. Farrell
Winner of the Lost Man Booker Prize.
An involving and interesting tale set in 1919 about a World War One veteran, Brendan Archer, who travels to Ireland to find the girl he rashly got engaged to three years earlier. When love...Format: Paperback - Released: 05/08/1993

The Birds on the TreesNina Bawden
Shortlisted for the Lost Man Booker Prize.
A touching, intimate novel about a family on the verge of breakdown after the expulsion of the son from school and the subsequent events. Nina Bawden creates in depth characters and relationships and handles...Format: Paperback - Released: 26/09/1991

The Bay of NoonShirley Hazzard
Shortlisted for the Lost Man Booker Prize.
Set in Italy of the 1960’s Jenny flees to Naples to leave her trouble behind but finds that life's little dramas can affect you wherever you are in the world. Friendships, romance, discovery. A...Format: Paperback - Released: 02/07/1998

Fire from HeavenMary Renault
Shortlisted for the Lost Man Booker Prize.
Telling the story of Alexander the Great this is the first part of a trilogy and covers Alexander’s childhood. This is a fictionalised account but Renault has a keen eye for historical detail and...Format: Paperback - Released: 06/11/2003

The Driver's SeatMuriel Spark
Shortlisted for the Lost Man Booker Prize.
A short but perfectly formed novel about a woman who decides to change the direction her life is going in. However it soon becomes clear that searching for adventure may not have been the...Format: Paperback - Released: 27/04/2006

The VivisectorPatrick White
Shortlisted for the Lost Man Booker Prize.
Following the life of a cruel and eccentric artist, Hurtle Duffield, who dissects all he meets , expressing his thoughts through his art. An interesting and sometimes shocking book, it will keep you gripped.Format: Paperback - Released: 21/07/1994

In 1971, just two years after it began, the Booker Prize ceased to be awarded retrospectively and became - as it is today - a prize for the best novel of the year of publication. At the same time the award moved from April to November and, as a result, a wealth of fiction published for much of 1970 fell through the net and was never considered for the prize.
The Lost Man Booker Prize is the brainchild of Peter Straus, honorary archivist to the Booker Prize Foundation, who launched the investigation in to the ‘missing’ year and now, 40 years on, those 1970 books are being given their chance to win the 'Lost' Man Booker Prize.A panel of three judges - all of whom were born in or around 1970 – was appointed to select a shortlist of six novels from that year. The poet and novelist Tobias Hill, ITN newsreader, Katie Derham and the journalist and critic, Rachel Cooke.Katie Derham said the longlist had provided an insight into "the sociological and historical points of view" of the early 1970s. It was like a snapshot of life at the time, but of course the mark of great writing is when it doesn't feel dated, and in the main, these books didn't."

The winner of The Lost Man Booker Prize was decided by the international reading public. The public voted via the Man Booker Prize website and the overall winner, Troubles by J. G. Farrell, was announced on 19 May 2010. Click here to find out more.

So, read the opening extracts here and decide who your winner of the Lost Man Booker Prize is.